Be Yourself
Uniting Church in Australia
Judge Michael Kirby
queer saints
beyond issues |
Social Justicebeyond the issues
Social justice is often perceived as issues. We join the marginalised group of the month club and present special pleading on behalf of an oppressed group. For a brief moment they become honorary members of the human race. If they were willing to behave like us we might even give them probationary membership. But there are so many groups requiring our compassion, we soon move on to the next issue. This process is not only demeaning to the particpants, it is also ineffective. It misses the point that we are the oppressors and it is us who must change our behaviour. God is on the side of the oppressed because we oppress them. When we create and maintain divisions in society we declare ourselves to be in opposition to God. To evoke compassion on behalf of some of our victims while we continue to oppress others lacks sincerity. Is this what is meant by the expression "unrepentant sinner"?
Social justice is not about redefining the boundaries between us and them. It is about challenging they way we exclude groups we think are different from us and treat them unfairly.
Discrimination based on sexual orientation
Some people work for social justice and human rights but think they can be silent about the human rights concerns of gays and lesbians.
Social justice and human rights thrive on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion.
All of us who oppose discrimination and support equal rights should stand together to resist every attempt to restrict human rights.
As christians we are challenged to find ways to solve the dramatic situations of vast sectors of the population who aspire to a legitimate overall progress and to more just and decent living conditions. This calls for a response beyond charity, to begin to address oppression, intolerance and prejudice. Guiding the consciences and hearts of all men and women of good will toward an encounter with Christ, helping them to experience the full depths of the mystery of redemption, achieved once and for all in the Son of God, has always been part of the mission of the Church. For many people the concept of friendship with Jesus expresses this historical task in modern terms. Jesus not only showed us a way but called us to a historical project, the building up of the community of God. Evangelism is a very important part of the church’s task but obviously far from the totality of the mission of Jesus as he himself formulated it, repeating the words of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has annointed me; he has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release for prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind; to let the broken victims go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" (Luke 4:18). Those who oppose social justice seem to be saying that it is the compassion for the poor and the marginalised in society which is why people are leaving the church. The way to reverse the outflow would then be to return to support of the rich and powerful in the hope of persuading them to be nice to the poor and the outcast.
Oscar Romero insisted that “our
Christian faith requires that we submerge ourselves in this world.” He knew that one committed
to the poor risks the fate of the poor, which is “to disappear, to be tortured, to be captive, to be
found dead”?
One problem for many older Christians is that they grew up in Churches that made distinctions between members based on gender, race and sexual orientation. These distinctions were usually justified by interpreting the Bible in particular ways. Most preachers no longer use the Bible in this way to oppress groups. It can be difficult and painful for older Christians to accept that what the Church taught them as children has caused pain and suffering for their fellow Christians.
There is also the human tendency to want to be more important that someone else, "everybody's always looking
for somebody to look down on". Some people try to use Scripture to
justify something that Scripture is really basically against.
Email: longship@mailexcite.com |
